NBC taps 'Sarah Connor Chronicles' creator to produce pirate drama

Universal Television announced the signing of a two year deal with Josh Friedman, creator of Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," tapping him to serve as producer on the new series starring John Malkovich.

"Josh Friedman puts a distinct, unique spin on everything he writes. He taps into interesting worlds and is a very talented writer," said Bela Bajaria, executive vice president at Universal Television. "We've followed his career for years and are excited to be in business with him."

The series centers on Bahamian island New Providence in the year 1715, where Malkovich's Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard) rules over a population of thieves, outlaws and fellow pirates. "Crossbones" is veteran film and theater actor Malkovich's first foray into a small screen series, with the pilot written by Neil Cross, creator of the BBC's "Luther."

Friedman joins series creator Cross and "Gladiator" producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. Under the deal with Universal Television, Friedman will also supervise other new projects as he did under a previous development deal with 20TH Television's "Locke & Key" and "The Asset" pilots. In addition to creating the cancelled Fox series, he has served as writer for big screen projects such as Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" and Brian DePalma's "Black Dahlia."